I Am a Filipino

2019 James Beard Award Finalist

Named a Best Cookbook of the Year by The New Yorker, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, Houston Chronicle, Food52, PopSugar, and more

To eat—and cook—like a Filipino involves puckeringly sour adobos with meat so tender you can cut it with a fork, national favorites like kare kare (oxtail stew) and kinilaw (fresh seafood cured in vinegar), Chinese-influenced pansit (noodles), tamales by way of early Mexican immigrants, and Arab-inflected fare, with its layered spicy stews and flavors of burnt coconut. But it also entails beloved street snacks like ukoy (fritters) and empanadas and the array of sweets and treats called meryenda. Dishes reflect the influence and ingredients of the Spaniards and Americans, among others, who came to the islands, but Filipinos turned the food into their own unique and captivating cuisine. Filled with riotously bold and bright photographs, I Am a Filipino is like a classic kamayan dinner—one long festive table piled high with food. Just dig in!